The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

#46 Cedric the Servant (12) – Unease and Handshakes

#46 Cedric the Servant (12) – Unease and Handshakes

The Lord’s Manor was thrown into complete upheaval.

Of course it was, assassins managing to reach the Lord’s very chambers – there was no other way it could have been.

“…It appears some guards, disgruntled by the former Lord Regent’s dismissal, aided the assassins. Those who tried to flee upon realizing the plan had failed have all been apprehended and imprisoned.”

Butler Bastian reported, his face grim.

“Young Lady, no, Lord. This is not something to be taken lightly, not at all. The guard must be held accountable to ensure such a thing never happens again, to restore order.”

At Bastean’s words, the Captain of the Guard’s face darkened considerably.

Yet, he offered no argument, for in truth, he couldn’t.

A breach in security, the Lord’s life threatened, was grave enough, but that the cause was betrayal from within the ranks left him with nothing to say, not even if he had ten mouths.

Claudia watched the Captain, who stood head bowed like a prisoner awaiting sentence, then declared,

“Those on duty today will suffer a month’s docked pay. The Captain will forgo three months’ salary. See that it is done.”

The Captain of the Guard’s eyes widened, and a murmur of unease rippled through the other retainers.

The punishment seemed far too lenient for the gravity of the affair.

Some nobles would have ordered the heads of the entire guard detail for a mere scratch on their charge. This judgment was more than merciful.

“My Lady, but─”

“My decision is made, and I will hear no objections. And do not mistake this for leniency. Those who aided the assassination attempt will find no mercy from me.”

The Captain of the Guard, his face tight with emotion, knelt before Claudia, and behind him, the guards who had been trembling, likewise bowed their heads to the floor.

“Thank you, My Lady! I will dedicate my life to loyalty from this day forth!!”

“““We pledge our loyalty!!”””

“Yes, I shall expect it henceforward.”

Claudia replied with a dismissive air, but that was only a facade; inwardly, she was quite surprised.

‘…Truthfully, I was prepared to crush them all.’

She had been striving to cultivate an air of dignity and mercy of late, but her true nature did not change so easily.

And this time, she even had just cause.

Yet, she had reached this conclusion because of Cedric’s counsel.

Claudia had believed that such matters demanded decisive action, lest her subordinates begin to take their Lord’s life lightly. Cedric’s method – drawing loyalty through clemency rather than harsh punishment – was remarkably novel to her.

The guard, moved to tears by their lord’s… *mercy* (?), brought down a veritable storm on the traitors and assassins, their eyes practically bleeding with zeal. Alas, the fruits of their labor proved less than bountiful.

It wasn’t that the captured possessed some superhuman mental fortitude, stubbornly refusing to speak, nor did they choose to swallow some potent poison, taking the truth with them to the grave.

On the contrary, their lips parted rather easily.

The problem lay in the utter worthlessness of the intelligence gleaned.

“The contract stipulated: ‘Frighten them, as much as possible, but don’t kill.’ The client is a criminal organization, distinct from the one these men belong to. If we press *that* organization, they’ll likely name yet another… a commission of commissions, if you will.”

Cedric shrugged, earning him a frown from Claudia.

“Still, we got *some* information, didn’t we? We raid the organization that hired these thugs, then raid the one that commissioned *them*, and keep tracing backwards. Surely, we’ll find the real culprit eventually?”

“Individuals who resort to such convoluted methods are likely to sprinkle in fictional intermediaries that don’t exist. The process of backtracking will only dissipate into thin air.”

“Tch.”

Claudia clicked her tongue, clearly displeased.

To her, Cedric remarked, “Besides, I suspect you already possess a reasonable idea of the culprit’s identity, wouldn’t you agree?”

“My dear siblings, most likely. The lot of them start shaking like leaves whenever they see me making even a little progress.”

Despite using the term “siblings,” Claudia’s voice carried not a sliver of familial affection.

No complex cocktail of love and resentment, just pure, unadulterated dislike.

At this point, one could safely conclude they were family in name only; strangers bound by blood, nothing more.

Claudia sighed heavily.

“I can’t say I didn’t anticipate this, but this is happening too early. And something tells me this is only the first strike. Should I perhaps retrieve a contingent of the Blood Demon Guard to act as personal protection?”

Cedric shook his head.

“To do so would be to play directly into their hands, to undermine the very engine of the Eched Empire’s growth.”

“…Is that so? That does make sense, I suppose. Then instead, you’ll have to stick close to me and act as my guard. How about moving your room right next to mine?”

Despite the serious topic of her own assassination countermeasures, there was a slightly buoyant tone in Claudia’s voice.

She thought that this would be a good excuse to keep Cedric by her side.

“I have no complaints about protecting the Lady’s person as a servant. However, if I were to move rooms and dedicate myself entirely to guarding you, the guards would feel relatively deprived. They would say they forgive me, but in truth, they would think I didn’t trust them.”

Cedric refused her suggestion, saying that he didn’t need to throw away the trust and respect he had earned through such a rare display of magnanimity.

“Hmm.”

Claudia puffed out her cheeks.

She wanted to say, ‘What does it matter if those failures are disappointed or not?’ but she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth.

She had a feeling that if she showed such a childish side, Cedric might be disappointed in her.

“So, you *are* going to be concerned with guarding me?”

“Of course, I will be concerned. And frankly, regarding anything that might happen inside the mansion, there’s not much difference whether I’m nearby or not. I will rush to your side as soon as you call, Lady.”

“I-Is that so?”

As if the earlier dissatisfaction had been a lie, Claudia’s face brightened again.

His words, ‘I will rush to your side as soon as you call, Lady,’ sounded rather sweet.

It felt a bit like a line from [Roses and Pocket Watches].

Surely the next development would be the two of them trapped in a villa on a rainy day, embracing each other…

“Lady? Lady Claudia?”

“…Huh? Yes? What is it?”

“No, you suddenly went quiet and seemed lost in thought. It seems I have been lacking in consideration. After experiencing such a thing in the middle of the night and then immediately delving into the aftermath, it’s no wonder you’re feeling fatigued.”

“No, it’s alright. I’m really alright.”

Claudia, clearing her throat several times to banish the awkward air, swiftly changed the subject.

“Anyway, let’s say the escort goes as planned. Isn’t there anything else we could do? Should I just hire an assassin and be done with it?”

“We don’t know precisely which of the siblings is responsible, do we? And forcing matters when our power base is still weak risks them turning it against us.”

“Tch, so you’re saying we should just sit here twiddling our thumbs?”

“Not at all. We still need to increase the number of Blood Beasts, and govern the territory well.”

“Too ordinary.”

“Ordinary is precisely what makes it good.”

Cedric grinned.

“Repeating that will only eat away at our opponent.”

*

Despite hearing the news that the criminal organizations dispatched to the Etched Territory had gone silent, second son Erwin and third daughter Mira remained at ease.

After all, the criminals operating on the ground were unaware of the true identities of their employers at the top.

Even if they were captured alive, Claudia wouldn’t be able to unearth any evidence.

A unilateral attack with no risk of exposure, only reward if it succeeded.

Thus, the conversation between the two siblings who had held a summit was almost affectionate.

“What’s Claudia’s reaction?”

“Quiet. No movements to reclaim the Blood Beasts, no vengeful rampage.”

“Hmm, strange. With that temper, she wouldn’t just sit still after being hit with a preemptive strike, would she?”

“Isn’t she just being stubborn? Give it some time. I’m already preparing new recruits.”

“I’ll send my own separately this time. If we bleed her dry day and night, even that little vixen will eventually break.”

They sent a new assassin, accompanied by a sly smirk.

As always, it failed.

“Hmph, they blocked it? Her escort must be somewhat capable.”

“Honestly. Taking that much coin and barely managing a threat. This is why I hate dealing with refuse.”

“Next time, we must select only grade 3 or higher. No matter how well-trained, a regular soldier has their limits.”

“We should support them with scrolls too, perhaps?”

Equipped and staffed with chosen talents, the third attempt at assassination began.

The result was yet another failure.

“…Are they employing a rather powerful knight, perhaps?”

“Is there someone with at least a grade 4 ability attached to her? What exactly did that foul-tempered woman do to deserve that?”

“Still, she *is* Redbell. Must be some fool blinded by reputation. No choice; we must alter our methods.”

“We were holding back, afraid of her actually dying, but that ends now. Poison, snipers, bribery. We must employ everything we have available.”

They tackled the assassination with a now markedly serious demeanor.

And as ever, this also failed.

“……”

“……”

Whether they changed methods, selected talents, or supported them with tools and funds, not a single one brought news of success.

No, not even a report of failure was forthcoming, let alone a successful outcome.

When checking Claudia’s intelligence through spies, the reports that came back were always the same.

The number of Blood Beasts roaming Etched Territory remained unchanged, Claudia not only did not avoid public events with high assassination risk, she actively participated, and her reputation and influence soared day by day. Among the populace, many were utterly unaware that any assassination attempts had even occurred.

Yes, it was so.

The assassins they’d sent, far from intimidating or threatening Claudia, were being utterly ignored, treated as if their very existence was a fabrication.

As if they weren’t even worth the effort.

“It seems we can no longer rely on these other dogs,” Ervin spat, his face a mask of grim resolve. Mira flinched at his words.

Ervin, and Mira too.

The ‘true blades,’ who handled the truly dirty work directly, existed apart.

Individuals of skill incomparable to the hired outsiders they had used until now.

But there was always a reason for not employing such assets until now.

“But, still, isn’t taking direct action ourselves too risky? What if someone were captured…?”

It was a world apart in meaning and weight between criminal organizations acting on a request from an anonymous client, and the Redbel family’s own forces directly intervening.

Should they fail, the consequences would be truly unmanageable.

But despite his sister’s remonstrations, the second son did not yield.

“Other territories bordering Eched are stretching their hands out to Claudia, asking her to dispatch those damned curs to their lands as well. If we leave it be, a massive force will coalesce around that b*tch.”

“Wait, hold on. If you lower the individual strength of the Bloodbeasts, sure, it’s easier to increase their numbers, but there’s still a limit, isn’t there? We could handle Eched alone, maybe, but there’s no way she can create enough to cover other territories too. It’ll fail on its own!”

“Eched’s security is already largely stable anyway. If she moves the internal Bloodbeasts to other territories, it would be enough for show, surely? At the very least, she could create a result worthy of bragging about to others.”

The siblings didn’t consider the possibility that the number of Bloodbeasts Claudia controlled would actually increase.

Or rather, they desperately chose to ignore that possibility.

They themselves handled Bloodbeasts, but controlling such a large number like Claudia was doing was impossible for them.

The idea that they might be falling behind those thieving mother and daughter, even in the slightest, was something their pride simply could not accept.

“From now on, we must discard this milquetoast attitude of ‘dying wouldn’t be the end of the world.’ We must move with the resolve to ‘kill, no matter what.’ Before the Lord takes an interest in that wench.”

Mira, who had been displaying a rather uncomfortable demeanor, finally nodded, seemingly giving in to Ervin’s repeated assurances.

*

The two, in their own way, took great care not to be discovered, but their efforts were rendered futile. Their movements were reported, untouched, to the true ruler of Redbell.

And the Marquis, upon evaluating the situation, said this:

“They’re doomed. It’s practically a predetermined failure.”

“…Is that so?”

The Marquis’ confidant betrayed a hint of doubt.

It was true that Claudia had begun to actively build her power base, but the two siblings had been doing something similar long before she had.

Until now, they had been repeatedly outsmarted due to their fear of risk and passive fighting style. But if they set their minds to it and began to wield their power in earnest, it would far surpass Claudia’s.

Even so, the Marquis declared Claudia’s victory with a listless expression.

“It’s not like they’re thoroughly preparing, assessing the opponent’s strength, and deploying even more. Nor are they striking at a weak point with beast-like intuition. They’re underestimating the opponent, gradually deploying their forces, and only belatedly scrambling when that doesn’t work. Utterly foolish. They’ll be swallowed whole.”

Confirming the incompetence of the children he’d raised at considerable expense was not a pleasant experience.

But on the other hand, it was intriguing.

“I wonder how much she’s predicted. If she’s been playing with them in the palm of her hand from the start, then she’s a monster beyond imagination…”

The Marquis felt a spark of curiosity.

And he was a powerful man who didn’t need to suppress his curiosity.

“It wouldn’t be so bad to have some quality time with the family for the first time in a while.”